It’s time to pack our bags again and head to the airport for our third virtual trip around the world! The destinations will all be places that I lived in or visited in over 50 years as a student, volunteer, businessman, and tourist. The vast majority of photos you will see posted are my own;
although a few will be borrowed from the web. At each destination of our trip, we will be faced with a few challenges in the form of questions, research, games, or puzzles. The answers to the challenges will be posted the following month. Failing any of the challenges will cause a time
delay in your trip of 15 minutes…it doesn’t sound like much, but in a trip around the world, that time can add up! My simple web site will not allow me to monitor your progress: you’ll have to do that on your own, so be honest! At the end of our voyage around the world, we will have collected
11 landmark tokens…one for each stop on the trip. Are you ready? Let’s board the plane and fly off to our first destination…
- Reykjavik, Iceland (2015)
The small island of Iceland is the gateway to Europe from North America, and it only takes a few hours to get there by plane. Once the government of Iceland and the airlines realized that and lengthened waiting times for connecting flights to the continent, tourism to Iceland boomed. It’s a fitting place to begin our virtual trip around the world; and Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland, is our destination.
Perhaps the two most famous attractions in Reykjavik are the Harpa Concert Hall and Hallgrimskirkja Church. The city-owned Harpa Concert Hall is stunning with its glass facade. Opened in 2011, Harpa is home to the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and hosts a variety of concerts in all musical genres. Hallgrimskirkja Church, completed in 1986, is the largest church in the country. The church is located on a hilltop, so it looks even taller. Lutheran Hallgrimskirkja is magnificently flanked by rows of Icelandic flags and fronted by a statue of the early explorer, Lief Erickson. There are actually concrete slides built into the sides of this statue, which small tots are sliding down.
We can’t go sliding down the sides of this statue; but we can complete a “sliding puzzle”. Click on the image above to begin the puzzle. Once you have solved it, read on!
Baejarins Betzu Pylsur is a very famous hot dog stand in Reykjavik; but unlike most standard hot dogs, they use some lamb meat in theirs. Kim Kardashian and Bill Clinton are two of the celebrities who have ordered food here. Now, President George W. Bush is not said to have had a dog here; but you can help him out by serving hot dogs to customers. Just click on the photo above. Just one location and any result will suffice.
Reykjavik is a city of statues. Just about everywhere you look, there is a statue. We are now standing before a statue of Ingolfur Anarson. Anarson was, of course, a Viking and the first Icelander. He was a seafarer from Norway. Legend has it, that in the 9th century, Anarson threw two high seat pillars from his ship into the waters off Iceland and promised to settle where they came ashore. Naturally, they came to rest in a small bay which eventually became the site of Reykjavik.
Spot the 5 differences between the two photos above to advance.
There is nothing special about Reykjavik’s City Hall. Built in 1992, it’s almost as if the inhabitants of this city decided that they should have a town hall. So they had one built.
Still, we want to get there. To achieve that goal, we have to choose and navigate the right streets. Complete the maze in the picture above to get from where you are to Reykjavik City Hall.
There is a pond just behind Reykjavik City Hall which residents call (imaginatively) “The Pond”. Its official name is just as imaginative, as “Tjornin” means pond in Icelandic. Actually, Tjornin is a real (not man-made) shallow lake which attracts ducks and other birds. Lately, however, the city has been experiencing problems with aggressive sea gulls that are stealing food meant for ducks.
Address this problem by giving it back to the sea gulls. Click on the photo above to begin.
On a hill in the south of Reykjavik stands Perlan-a natural history museum. As its name suggests, it looks like a pearl. For many years, the city got its water supply from the tanks situated on this hill. They remain there as the base of the Perlan.
We spot a black Icelandic Rabbit on the Perlan hill. Critters abound in Iceland. There are more sheep than human beings living in this country. For the first token photo of our virtual voyage around the world, click on the above right photo of a sheep and try to find this photo in the link it leads to. Don’t give up too easily, as the photo may appear in a link from that link.
Leaving Reykjavik and Iceland for the next destination on our virtual trip around the world, we stop at the Blue Lagoon, which is between Reykjavik and the airport, for some relaxation. The Blue Lagoon is a man-made geothermal spa opened in the late 1980’s. Iceland is dotted with natural geothermal pools; but this one is certified safe and a splendid way to wait for our flight. Click on the photo above and enjoy!